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Avengers
__TOC__ See Also: * Avengers West Coast * Great Lakes Avengers * Young Avengers Official Team Names: The Avengers Team Nicknames: Earth's Mightiest Heroes Former Team Aliases: The Queen's Vengeance Other Current Team Aliases: No other known current aliases Status Team Status: Active Team Identity: Publicly known, officially recognized by the U.S. Government Base of Operations: Avengers Tower, New York, New York; formerly Avengers Mansion Organization Team Leader: Captain America Active Members: Iron Man, Luke Cage, Sentry, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Wolverine, Ronin Former Members: , Ant-Man, Beast, Black Knight, Black Panther, Black Widow, Crystal, Darkhawk, Doctor Druid, Demolition Man, Falcon, Firebird, Firestar, Gilgamesh, Hawkeye, Hellcat, Hercules, Hulk, Human Torch, Invisible Woman, Jack of Hearts, James Rhodes, Justice, Lionheart, Living Lightning, Machine Man, Mantis, Mister Fantastic, Mockingbird, Moondragon, Moon Knight, Namor, Pulsar, Quasar, Quicksilver, Rage, Sandman, Scarlet Witch, Sersi, She-Hulk, Silverclaw, Spider-Woman, Starfox, Stingray, Swordsman (Jacques Duquesne), Thing, Thor, Thunderstrike, Tigra, Triathlon, Two Gun Kid, US Agent, Vision, Warbird, Wasp, Wonder Man, Yellowjacket Honorary Members: Aleta, Captain Marvel, Charlie-27, Deathcry, Iron Man (Teen Tony), Jocasta, Magdalene, Major Victory, Marrina, Martinex, Masque, Moira Brandon, Nikki Gold, Rick Jones, Starhawk, Swordsman (Philip Javert),Whizzer, Yellowjacket (Rita DeMara), Yondu Known Allies: Fantastic Four, X-Men Known Enemies: Enchantress, Grim Reaper, Kang, Loki, Masters of Evil, Ultron Statistics Total Members: 61 (New Avengers 8) Total Allies: Total number of allies unknown Total Enemies: Total number of enemies unknown Origin Loki, trapped in Asgard thanks to Thor, wanted revenge on his half-brother. Still able to manipulate Midgaard, Loki tricked The Hulk into destroying a railway line. Rick Jones radioed the Fantastic Four for help, but Loki instead relayed the information to Thor to draw him out in the open. However, Iron Man, the Wasp, and Ant-Man also recieved the radio signal unbeknownst to Loki and arrived at the scene, attempting to reason with the green goliath. Not falling for the trick, Thor confronted Loki and exposed his scheme to the others. Defeating Loki, the group agreed they worked well together and The Avengers were born! Place of Formation: Place of formation unknown First Appearance: Avengers #1 History While the Hulk proved to be uncontrollable, a new member was discovered when battling Namor. Captain America had been in suspended animation, frozen in time since the end of World War II. Needing to adjust to the world he awoke in, Captain America joined the heroes. A born leader, the living legend was given "founding member" status once Hulk left and is seen as the heart and soul of the team. The Avengers soon find themselves facing the Masters of Evil, a group of villains with grudges against certain heroes within the team. The Masters consisted of Baron Heinrich Zemo, Black Knight, Melter, and Radioactive Man. Executioner, Enchantress, and Wonder Man joined shortly thereafter, with the latter turning on Zemo and apparantly killed. Following several more battles with the Masters their foes finally fall; Zemo is accidently killed in a fatal rock slide as he and Captain America were fighting. Kang the Conqueror fought the Avengers inbetween battles with the Masters, trying to take over the world with his advanced technology from the 30th century. Loosing once, Kang uses a Spider-Man robot to fool the Avengers as Zemo had used Wonder Man to gain the teams trust and then betray them. Yet, his second plan fails and Kang escapes back into time. The Kooky Quartet After the battle with the Masters Of Evil the Wasp proposes that they take a leave of absence for a while stating the stress of constant danger. Iron Man and Giant Man agree, though Thor and Captain America weren't present and didn't voice their opinion, and find others to act as replacements: * Hawkeye: Expert marksmen and wielder of trick arrows, Clint Barton fought Iron Man but seeked redemption. * Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, Pietro & Wanda Maximoff and children of Magneto. They were coerced into joining the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants by their father and wanted to change course. Pietro possesses super speed, while Wanda wields probability altering hex bolts. Captain America returns after the new members had been found and acts as team leader, while Thor resigns along with the other founders. The new foursome became known as "Cap's Kooky Quartet", and were considered not as powerful and less capable as their preceders. The team proved their worth by defeating the Swordsman (Jacques_Duquesne) (a recruit of the Mandarin, Power Man (created by the Enchantress), Doctor Doom, and surviving another bout with Kang. East and West A West Coast branch was formed with the help of the late Moira Brandon. See Avengers West Coast for more information. Members include Hawkeye, Moira Brandon, Mockingbird, Tigra, Wonder Man, Iron Man, Henry Pym, Moon Knight, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wasp, Phantom Rider, Spider-Woman, US Agent, and Living Lightning. Proctor and the Gatherers Proctor, a mad version of the Black Knight, attempts to drive Sersi insane. He and his Gatherers battle the Avengers while attempts are made framing Sersi for murders. Swordsman (Philip Javert) and Magdalene side with the Avengers and Sersi is able to slay Proctor with his own Ebony Blade. She then exiles herself with Dane Whitman accompanying her. Galactic Storm War breaks out between the Shiar, Kree, and Skrull. The Avengers send teams to Hala and Throneworld in attempts to stabilize the situation. The Crossing Feeling burned out from recent events, Tony Stark calls for a party at the Mansion inviting team members past and present. Quicksilver and Crystal encounter a man named Tuck. Javert is attacked by agents of Kang while seeing a vision of what happened to his counterpart, Swordsman (Jacques Duquesne). Yellowjacket (Rita DeMara) returns from the future seeking to warn the Avengers. She is shot and killed. This is seen by Luna's nanny, Marilla. Marilla is soon murdered as well. Gilgamesh is also found dead, with an assailant seeming to come from a mysterious 'door' in the basement. Security cameras find nothing, and it seems someone with great technological savvy has tampered with them. The Mansion is evacuated with members meeting at the Wasp's home while Iron Man and Hank Pym attempt to determine the murderer and examine the door. Hawkeye is framed for the murders and Stark is revealed to be under the influence of Kang. Wasp is wounded during a subsequent confrontation. In order to save her life Pym places her under treatments similar to those that originally gave her her bioelectric sting and wings. Jan emerges from a cocoon in a more wasplike form. The remnants of Force Works and James Rhodes assist the Avengers. The Avengers, boosted by the return of Captain America and Thor, return to the mansion removing the Anachronauts. A special team travels to another reality, returning with Iron Man (Teen Tony). In the climactic battle Kang's plan is stopped with the elder Stark sacrificing himself. Onslaught A plot by the Zodiac to isolate Manhattan is stopped. The team has withstood another one of Loki's schemes when X-Man appears warning them about Professor X. Although skeptical, the team follows him to the Xavier Institute. They are quickly confronted by the X-Men, themselves wary of another ruse by Onslaught. An enraged Hulk is able to crack open Onslaught's shell. However, it remains as pure psionic energy, planning to spread across the planet. Thor plunges into Onslaught trying to contain him. The Thing and Human Torch follow, and Captain America leads the other Avengers to do the same. The X-Men then destroy Onslaught. All are believed dead but were instead saved by Franklin Richards and transported to a pocket dimension called Counter-Earth that he has created. Heroes Return The team reforms after returning from Counter-Earth and being restored by Franklin Richards. The threat of Morgan Le Fay calls for several reservists to assist the team as well as a few new members being recruited. Using the Scarlet Witch's power, Earth is temporarily turned into a world of Le Fay's design, with the Avengers acting as the Queen's Vengeance. Some are able to see past the illusion and hear Wanda's call for aid. Wanda trains to improve her powers and seems responsible for Wonder Man's return. Ultron returns, slaughtering the war-torn country of Slorenia. Alkhema rebels against Ultron, and Hank Pym is able to defeat him with assistance from Justice. The team also learns that Count Nefaria is alive and plans to bombard the world with energy. Teaming with the Thunderbolts, Nefaria is stopped. Avengers Forever Several teams of Avengers called by Rick Jones battle Immortus, the Time Keepers, and even other teams of Avengers for their very existence. Immortus is revealed to have been responsible for influencing Stark during the Crossing, manipulating events so the Vision could be created, and even affecting Hank Pym's episodes. Avengers Disassembled Thor must deal with Ragnarock. Iron Man has an incident at the UN building and has to deal with a murderous imposter. Captain America and Falcon deal with the Anti-Cap and Cap has a strange meeting with the Scarlet Witch. The Scarlet Witch loses her grip on reality. Her machinations lead to several deaths and the sounding of the White Alert. Doctor Strange also appears, sensing something has gone horribly wrong. An investigation of Agatha Harkness's house on Whisper Hill brings into question if she really had been able to help Wanda. The Scarlet Witch soon appears and attacks her allies. The Eye of Agamotto is able to subdue her, but the assembled members are still in shock as Magneto suddenly appears to claim his daughter. The damaged Mansion is turned into a memorial. Stark decides that rebuilding at this point is not an option and the team disbands. New Avengers Months later, a breakout occurs at the Raft. The original Spider-Woman and Luke Cage are escorting Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock to meet with the Sentry as it is occuring. Spider-Man, Captain America, and Iron Man arrive to help keep order. The team is able to track one of the escapees, Sauron to the Savage Land. Wolverine also becomes a member. The team battles both the Savage Land Mutates and a SHIELD team led by Black Widow (Yelena Bolova). SHIELD seems to have been selectively placing certain prisoners into the group. There are allegations of corruptions, especially now that Nick Fury has been deposed as the organization's leader. The team address the potential threat of the Sentry and helps him rediscover his place. He agrees to assist the team when he can. Most recently, the Avengers learn that the Silver Samurai was one of the Raft's prisoners. It is suspected Harada was returned to Japan for a potential merging of the Hand, Madame Hydra's forces, and Clan Yashida. Wolverine is away on other matters. Daredevil turns down a request from Captain America to help, nominating the mysterious Ronin in his place. Ronin finds Madame Hydra but is chased by the Hand. The Avengers defeat a number of Hand members. Spider-Woman has an encounter with Madame Hydra. Silver Samurai claims he was abducted by SHIELD and placed in the Raft. He is not concerned with other groups, only Clan Yashida with Sunfire being missing and believed dead. Ronin's identity is revealed. Additional History by the Unofficial Handbook Website The Avengers is one of Earth's foremost organization of costumed superhuman adventurers dedicated to safeguarding the world form any threat beyond the power of conventional peacekeeping forces to handle. Founded several months after the incorporation of the hero team Fantastic Four, the Avengers became the first superhuman team to be granted official government sanctions by the National Security Council of the United States, the General Assembly of the United Nations, and later by the international intelligence agency SHIELD. The five founding members of the Avengers first banded together when Loki, the Asgardian god of mischief, attempted to discredit the monstrous Hulk in order to draw the thunder god Thor into battle. The Hulk's teenage ally Rick Jones, believing the Hulk was innocent of the deed he was accused of, dispatched a radio call to the Fantastic Four for help. Loki intercepted the message, however, and relayed it to Thor. Inadvertently, the message was also received by Iron Man, Hank Pym (then, Ant-Man), and the Wasp. The four adventurers rendezvoused for the first time, tracked down the Hulk, learned that Loki was the true culprit, and apprehended him. Before they parted, Ant-Man suggested that they form a regular team. The five readily agreed, and the Wasp suggested the name "Avengers." The newly formed team assembled a short time later at the midtown Manhattan mansion of industrialist Anthony Stark (in reality their fellow member Iron Man). Stark soon donated the mansion to the Avengers for their exclusive use, and set up a foundation to cover all the operation expenses of the nonprofit team under his mother's name, creating the Maria Stark Foundation. The Stark family's trusted butler Edwin Jarvis was kept on as the principal regular domestic employee at what became known as the Avengers Mansion. Only weeks after the Avengers' inception, the Hulk left the team after a battle with the alien Space Phantom led him to believe that he was unappreciated. Almost immediately afterwards, the Avengers rescued the frozen body of the World War II hero Captain America, who was inducted into their roster. As the team was still in its formative stages at the time, Captain America was granted status of a founding member. Months later, when all but Captain America took a leave of absence, the Avengers sent out an open call for replacements. They recruited three former criminals into their ranks, namely: Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch. The new team, colloquially referred to as "Cap's Kooky Quartet," had a rough start, but soon proved to be stalwart heroes, and eventually, Hank Pym (as Goliath) and the Wasp would return to the fold. Over the years, the team continued to operate and experienced many fluctuations in membership. Former members would often return for stints as active members (with the exception of the Hulk), and new members would also be inducted. The Swordsman was the fifth recruit to the team, but served only a several day stint before betraying the Avengers and being expelled. Hercules, the Black Widow, the Black Knight, and others would often serve in an unofficial capacity for a brief period before being granted official membership. Others, such as the Black Panther, would serve as a replacement for another member's leave of absence, as the Panther did for Captain America. As the official ties between the Avengers and the United States government grew to the extent that the Avengers computer system had direct access to certain U.S. governmental and military information networks, the National Security Council began to take a more active interest in the Avengers' internal affairs. At one point, NSC agent Henry Peter Gyrich was appointed to be the government's liaison with the Avengers. Gyrich instituted certain policies in the name of security which restricted active membership in the group and tightened admission requirements. Unlike the Avengers' practices to this point, Gyrich initiated a strict screening procedure for new members and even dictated Avengers membership according to government standards of equal-opportunity employment. Eventually, Gyrich was reassigned elsewhere and replaced with the more moderate Raymond Sikorsky, another NSC agent. Even so, then-Avengers Chairman Captain America continued the six-member ceiling on active membership instituted by Gyrich, which remained an unofficial policy for some time. Shortly afterward, then-current Chairman, the Vision, petitioned the US government to approve the establishment of a second team of active Avengers to be based on the West Coast. Getting official clearance, the Vision appointed Hawkeye to be the new team's chairman and sent him to Los Angeles, California to set up a base of operations. Soon, the organization grew to two independently-operated but fully-coordinated branches of Avengers. The East Coast branch eventually found itself in a long series of misfortunes. First, when it was learned that the Vision planned to take benevolent control of the world government, certain punitive measures were taken by the United States, despite the fact that the Vision aborted his plan before it truly endangered anyone. The government limited the Avengers' access to security-related information and revoked certain sanctions, including the privilege of launching their supersonic Quinjets from their Mansion. The Avengers were forced to lease a part of Hydrobase, a floating island and scientific research station in the Atlantic Ocean, in order to use an airbase outside of FAA jurisdiction. Later, the Avengers Mansion was nearly destroyed by a concentrated effort of the largest group of organized super-villains up to that time, the Masters of Evil as led by Baron Zemo. Although the Avengers finally managed to defeat the villains at great cost, the team relocated entirely to Hydrobase while the Mansion was being repaired. Through a steady series of misfortunes, most notably the subversion of their member Doctor Druid by Ravonna (then called Nebula), the Avengers' East Coast branch was ultimately left with no active members. Captain America, then called the Captain, immediately reorganized the team with the hero Gilgamesh and the temporary members Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four. Captain America soon reassembled all known members and associates to the rebuilt Avengers Mansion, claiming that all heroes may consider themselves on reserve and ready for service, although an active team of seven members (plus two reserves) would be the primary response team. Also at this time, the Avengers negotiated with the United Nations, earning global jurisdiction by pledging to serve under a U.N. charter as it had previously the United States. After many months, the Avengers' West Coast branch was confronted by the East Coast branch to review what it perceived as its own series of misfortunes. The East branch accused the West branch of fluctuating membership, cavalier behavior, and of overextending its resources due to recent attacks which left their Compound demolished. The Vision also claimed that the Avengers West Coast was a failed experiment. Amid voices of contention, the vote resulted in the disbanding the West Coast branch. The East Coast branch resumed activities, and the former West Coast branch formed a new independant team, Force Works. Later still, the Avengers underwent another debilitating attack, this time by the villain Proctor and his Gatherers. The Avengers Mansion was destroyed again as a result, although Proctor's captive alien Watcher, Ute, restored the Mansion to its original state in gratitude for the Avenger's rescue. Shortly afterward, the Avengers were caught up in a battle with the psychic being known as Onslaught. To defeat the villain, the active members of the Avengers, as well as their allies including the Fantastic Four, seemingly sacrificed themselves to contain its energies. As a result, the Avengers were believed dead. Then-current chairman Black Widow tried to restore the team with inactive members, but this proved impossible. Black Widow remanded custody of the Avengers Mansion and equipment to SHIELD and declared the Avengers officially disbanded. In reality, the Avengers were saved by the young mutant Franklin Richards, who through his reality-altering powers bodily recreated the Avengers and others who died in an alternate dimension. Eventually, Franklin Richards was forced to bring his created world into true reality, thus bringing the Avengers and the other heroes back to Earth. The individual members of the Avengers began experiencing a coordinated attack by mythological elements organized by the sorceress Morgan Le Fey. All available members assembled to defeat the villain, but instead Morgan Le Fey recreated reality in her own image. The Avengers were able to thwart Le Fey due to their fraternity. With reality restored, the Avengers decided to officially re-form the team, under the auspices of their original United States National Security Council charter. They were helped by their new NSC liaison Dwayne Freeman. After several months of activity, the Avengers were forced to react to their archenemy, the robot Ultron, who had decimated the nation of Slovenia. Ultron was ultimately defeated, but the Avengers vowed to become more proactive to avoid such results in the future. The Avengers reorganized their membership roles and communications systems and began a program to better investigate threats at large as well as follow-up on completed missions. Soon after, Earth was attacked by the time-travelling villain Kang the Conqueror and his son, the Scarlet Centurion. The Avengers failed to keep Kang from destroying the United Nations building in New York City, after which Kang declared war on the Earth and offered positions of power to those who would also conquer in his name, thus creating several uprisings. The Avengers were forced to spread themselves across many fronts, calling on many of their reserve members. One squad of the Avengers confronted Kang's orbital base, Damocles, directly, aside United States' Sentinel robots. Instead, the attack failed, and Kang took control of the Sentinels and proceeded to destroy Washington D.C. The Avengers leader, the Wasp, signed the terms of the United States surrender to Kang. Soon, many other countries would fall before Kang, and the villain interned his opponents, political dissidents and superheroes, in scattered internment camps. Two contingents of Avengers remained: one, who had captured a base belonging to the villain known as the Master of the World; the other, a group of Avengers who joined Jonathan Tremont of the Triune Understanding in confronting the threat of the Triple-Evil. Both contingents wrested control of their respective enemies' equipment, turning it against Kang and ultimately defeated him and destroyed his Damocles base. The Avengers then turned their attention to help rebuild the war-torn cities of the world, and the reserve members returned to stand-by status. When the latest villain calling himself Scorpio appeared, he used a new version of the all-powerful Zodiac Key to unlock the balance between chaos and order, splitting the cosmic being known as the Inbetweener into his two diametrical halves and throwing nearly every major capitol city on Earth into the another dimension. The Avengers investigated, with one contingent of the team confronting Scorpio and the other serving in the stead of the United Nations as a global peacekeeping and judicial force. The Avengers ultimately thwarted Scorpio's plans by reuniting the Inbetweener. The cosmic entity thwarted Scorpio and restored the Earth's cities to their proper places. As an extension of the Avengers' service during the crisis, the United Nations granted the Avengers a special diplomatic status as a peacekeeping force against humanity not instigated by a member nation. They also established the Avengers Mansion as a unique and separate embassy. Unfortunatley, the team was wracked with personal failures. Jack of Hearts, who joined the team shortly after the Kang War, experienced a fluctuation in his powers that ultimately consumed him. An innocent civilian, Kelsey Leigh, became a casuality in the Avengers' tussle against the Wrecking Crew (although she would be reborn as Captain Britain and asked to join the Avengers.) And the Wasp and Hawkeye had a dallying romance, upsetting Yellowjacket. But the worst day in the Avengers' history was soon to come. The Avengers soon were attacked by friends and enemies alike, in rapid succession: a reanimated Jack of Hearts, a horde of Ultron robots hidden within the Vision, and a rampaging She-Hulk. They were also surprised by a sudden attack of the alien Kree, in which Hawkeye sacrificed himself to turn aside. The attacks were created by one of their own, the Scarlet Witch, whose mind became unhinged with the powers she constantly felt forced to control. The Avengers were joined by Doctor Strange, who ultimately defeated the Scarlet Witch's unconscious manipulation of reality. Months later, when the Avengers assessed the situation, Iron Man revealed that he was no longer in a position to finance the Avengers anymore without risking thousands of innocent jobs. They also found the team dropped unceremoniously from favor with the United Nations. The massive damage done to the Avengers Mansion and to the individual members forced the team members to part company and the Avengers was disbanded. Miscellaneous Equipment: Avengers ID Card Transportation: Avengers Quinjet Weapons: No known weapons. Notes * No special notes. Related Articles * Captain America * Thor * Iron Man * Quicksilver * Scarlet Witch External Links * References * Avengers Assemble * The Unofficial Handbook to the Marvel Universe ---- Category:Teams Category:Active Teams Category:Good Teams Category:Avengers Category:Copy Edit